Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to give that old turkey carcass the heave-ho. But before we do, let’s pick over the bones.
A group of tenants eager to preserve their homes from demolition has asked the Landmarks Commission to look into whether their 1950s era, 28-unit apartment building at 134 San Vicente Blvd. (known as the Teriton Apartments) is a landmark.
The shadowy, Los Angeles based, corporate owner of the Teriton Apartments recently pulled a permit to demolish the “deteriorating” Teriton. Tenants want to preserve it “as one of the finest buildings of the period that’s still intact.” The demolition is on hold while commissioners determine whether the Teriton is worthy of protection.
I’m sure there are those who would like to have City Hall buy it and turn it over to Community Corporation of Santa Monica, the city-affiliated affordable housing provider, for conversion to low-income apartments. That would save the building and provide new and much needed “north of Montana” affordable housing.
City Hall’s sole response is to build new affordable housing that neither protects existing residents or provides housing for those displaced. And, where’s that great protector of us renters — Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights? They’re full of the bird (or, maybe it’s bull) asleep on the couch and doing zip, nada and zero about it.
The Teriton is just one on a growing list of apartment buildings being purchased by mostly out-of-town speculators. They buy up property, evict tenants and rebuild at market rate. In the process, long-time Santa Monicans are being tossed out of their community in increasing numbers.
Carole Orlin hit the turkey on the head in her column (SMDP, Nov. 21, page 5) Common Scents. She announced nominations for her “Common Scents Turkey of the Year Award.” Topping her list was our very own Santa Monica City Council “who have done absolutely nothing about the vagrants who flock to our city...” She also chided them for lack of action on traffic problems and then said, “They are a self-serving committee that seems to exist to meet the needs of special interest groups.” You go, girl.
I have one suggestion that should pro-pel this nominee into the pantheon of truly deserving Turkeys of the Year. It’s worse than doing nothing about vagrants, Carole, they encourage them. By allowing groups to hand out food in public parks, spending of millions of dollars annually on ineffective services and approving hard-to-enforce anti-vagrancy laws, they literally roll out the red carpet. And, the unwieldy traffic is a result of deliberate city policy, too. She did hit the bird’s eye with “self serving,” though.
The City Council made no decision last Tuesday on an appeal by 18th Street neighbors of a recent Planning Commission approval of an expansion proposal and parking variance for the Unitarian Universalist Community Church at the corner of 18th Street and Arizona Avenue.
They heard from neighbors, church representatives and the public. Because it was after midnight, they put off making a decision and adjourned.
Traffic and lack of on-street parking is a major quality of life issue in the area. Neighbors contend the church is not providing enough parking, therefore expansion should not be permitted unless parking and traffic issues were realistically addressed.
Church officials responded that they can’t fix area parking problems by building the 13 parking spaces required by code for the expansion, so why bother? They said they should be able to build, anyway. That’s exactly the attitude that has resulted in the traffic and parking nightmares that many neighborhoods now face.
But, by “stuffing” the City Council agenda, once again a large group of citizens were forced to wait for hours before being heard and then they were “continued.” Until this is officially decided — which could be weeks from now — the possibility of buttonholing and influence peddling could turn this into a turkey shoot and unfairly and maybe even illegally influence the decision-making process.
Speaking of ruffling feathers, if you think all this is bad, just wait. The city’s transportation management folks are working on a scheme that would allow business parking and employee parking permits on residentially permitted streets. Talk about getting “the bird.” (Bill Bauer is a long-time Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 28, 2005. Read the original PDF.